


Smooth like Tennessee Whiskey, Sweet like Strawberry Wine

by TheSilverField



Series: EruMike Week 2018! [4]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Angst to Fluff, Erumike Week, Fluff, Getting Back Together, M/M, Post-Break Up, bartender!AU, modern!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-31 21:24:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13983609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSilverField/pseuds/TheSilverField
Summary: From lovers, to broken hearts, to new beginnings.Inspired by and in direct reference to the song Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton.





	Smooth like Tennessee Whiskey, Sweet like Strawberry Wine

Erwin didn't know what he was expecting when he stepped through the threshold of Maria's Brewery after being gone for six years. In all honesty, he hadn't been expecting much. Maria's was the oldest bar on the downtown strip, it's legacy standing the test of time for many years without much change, so it surprised him to find the interior completely renovated.

He had remembered it being brighter, more cliche in it's western style than it was now. Loud green walls that had been chipping since the seventies had been painted over with a warm brown, the lights brought down to a much more comfortable, atmospheric dimness. The decor was a bit of the same style that it had used to have been, but with a newer spin to it. Classic meeting modern. It was tasteful and exceedingly impressive. Whoever held ownership of the beloved bar now had a real eye for detail.

Something else that Erwin hadn't been expecting was the sight of a familiar face watching him wide eyed from behind the bar. The man seemed even taller now, but he still had the same shaggy blonde hair and soft blue eyes. The same rugged, handsome face, his beard a tad thicker than before. The vision of this man sent Erwin's heart pounding, a slow ache overwhelming his chest as he approached the bar.

His hands turned clammy, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth as the guilt of leaving came rushing back with a vengeance. In this moment of reuniting, he only knew one thing to say.

"I'm sorry, Mike."

The words slipped from Erwin's lips before he had time to stop himself. Before he had time to consider numerous other things he could say. Better things. But those two words held the weight the man had been carrying around on his shoulders for a very long time.

"Hello to you too." Mike replied almost dazedly, still stunned at the other's presence. "S'been what? Almost seven years?"

Erwin nodded slowly, taking a seat on one of the tall stools, his fingers thrumming nervously on the counter's surface. He opened his mouth to say something, clamped it shut, and tried again. "I never thought you might work here. How have you been?"

Mike seemed to have found his way out of his shock, shrugging nonchalantly as he busied himself by wiping at a few glasses he had lined up. "I don't just work here. I own the place." He shrugged again. "I've been good. Keeping busy. I wondered if I was ever going to see you or hear from you again. I guess I have my answer."

There it was.

Mike was never the type to show his anger as anything else but passive aggressiveness. He never raised his voice, never called anyone names or got himself into fights. He was level headed and so calm natured. But he was also bitter, and held a grudge closer to his chest than poker cards, and he was showing that rare side of himself right now.

And Erwin deserved every bit of it. He deserved venom and hatred and unforgiveness. He deserved a good punch to the face, but Mike would never do that. Especially not to him.

"Mike..."

"No, don't  _Mike_ me, Erwin. Did you seriously come here on a Thursday night not expecting to see me?"

Was it Thursday? Erwin honestly hadn't even thought of what day it was. He hadn't thought about the fact that Thursday night was  _always_ Maria's night. Erwin had come here for a drink to try to forget those things. He had only come in attempt to drown out the guilt that was slowly creeping up his throat and stinging the backs of his eyes.

"I didn't realize..." he paused to take a deep breath, and started again. "I just wanted a drink, and what better place to get one than here? I honestly didn't expect to see you, but I'm glad I did. I missed you."

Mike shook his head, his lips pursed as he set the now clean glasses behind the bar. "Don't say that. Not like I'm the one that left." Blue gazes met once again, and Erwin could easily read the pain behind the man he loved so much. "I've been here the whole time. You're the one that walked away."

Erwin's jaw set and he could feel his own anger rising in the pit of his stomach. "I did. To go to college. To earn a degree so I could get a job to support  _us._ Don't act like I'm the only one at fault here, you're the one who didn't want to do the long distance thing."

"We were doing fine--"

"No, we were living by the skin of our teeth. I wanted you to come with me."

Something that Erwin had only seen a hand full of times flashed in Mike's eyes. "You know  _exactly_ why I couldn't leave." he stated plainly, teeth gritting and grinding against each other, the friction rattling in Mike's ears. "I thought we were happy."

Hot piercing guilt slammed into Erwin brutally, his heart cracking as if he were made from glass. "We were happy. I was so happy to be with you. You're my everything, that's why--"

"But I'm still not enough." Mike interrupted, his voice as quiet as a breath, but Erwin still heard.

He stood from his seat at the bar, eyes brimming with angry tears. "Outside. Now." Erwin demanded, keeping his voice from cracking as he left no room for argument. Mike didn't wait, calling out to a back room for someone to come watch the bar. The two men went out the back entrance as they had many times, finding themselves in the same alley they would come to for a smoke, Erwin leading the way. Once the door shut, he let loose his tears and spun towards Mike so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. "How fucking dare you, Mike."

"Well is it a lie?" the man argued, scoffing and shaking his head bitterly. "It's not, is it? Face it, Erwin, you left because I just wasn't enough. You wanted something I couldn't give you. You wanted more than I could ever offer. Did you even love me, or was that a lie too?"

Erwin wasted no time in shutting Mike up. His hands gripped the front of his flannel shirt, pushing him against the metal door of Maria's side entrance, and slamming their lips together. His head was reeling at the familiar taste of cigarettes on the taller man's tongue, nearly swooning off his feet at how good the scratchiness of his facial hair felt against his skin. Mike's lips fit against his perfectly, their lips moving together in harmony, tongues dancing like they had never forgotten the song.

They hadn't.

After what felt like only seconds, they pulled away to catch their breaths, panting and staring into each other's eyes longingly. Erwin spoke first, his hands having moved from rumpling his love's shirt to tangling in his shaggy hair. "Don't you dare for one second think that I didn't love you. That I don't still. I left because  _I_ wasn't enough. We were in debt, we were weeks away from losing everything. I wanted to give  _you_ more, and the only way to do that was to listen to my parents and go to university. I didn't want to leave you, but I had to. Because I loved you, and I still do. That's why I came home."

Mike was left speechless like he was countless times before. It was always in moments like these that he couldn't find the words to express how he felt, so he let his body do the talking. His hands were on Erwin's hips, pulling him in closer once more as he reattached their lips for another kiss. Erwin didn't need him to say anything else. He knew from this kiss that Mike still felt the same exact way.

They found comfort that night in each others arms. Once the bar was closed and the city began to grow quiet, they escaped to the solitude of Mike's apartment, the same apartment they had once shared before their broken hearts departed those six years ago. They danced that night.

They made love that night. As smooth as Tennessee whiskey, and as sweet as strawberry wine.


End file.
